The top 5 Toronto videos of 2014

More than 12 months on from the Rob Ford crack tape (surely this city's video of the century) and this year's round-up of the top Toronto videos is, thankfully, a little more sedate: think impromptu national anthem singing, cute baby polar bears, and evocative skyline timelapses. The Ford family do make an appearance, however. Rob's visit to the Steak Queen restaurant and Doug's wife practicing "jude-ism" were too big to leave out.

Here are my picks for the videos worth re-watching from 2014.

Ryan Emond's Toronto Skyline Porn

We've always thought the Toronto is sexy skyline, but Ryan Emond's "Skyline Porn" video, released just last month, proves that fact. Beautifully filmed from the city's rooftops, Emond's short film includes spectacular shots of the Rogers Centre, the CN Tower, the ROM, and subway all stitched together using some seriously slick transitions. Better still, Emond's timing is impeccable. Summer storms roll in, fog skirts the lakeshore, and fireworks erupt from the roof of City Hall. Gorgeous.

A baby polar bear's first steps

Who knew the infant offspring of a terrifying arctic carnivore could be so cute (and popular)?

Maple Leafs fans finish "Star Spangled Banner"

Nothing seemed to go right for the Toronto Maple Leafs when they played the Nashville Predators earlier this season. By the time the final buzzer sounded, the team had been thoroughly butchered 9-2, their worst defeat since moving to the ACC. One highlight, however, was the crowd coming to the rescue of the national anthem singer following a microphone mishap. Video of the moment, shot by a fan, has garnered almost 5 million views.

John Oliver on Doug Ford

During the election, in an effort to prove that his brother isn't the only one capable of making gauche remarks at public events, Doug Ford made a series fumbling attempts to cosy up to Toronto's Jewish community after Rob Ford's use of the word "kike" was raised at a debate. The weird episode culminated in Doug awkwardly insisting his wife was Jewish. Cue John Oliver, master of the sarcastic put-down. "Doug Ford doesn't have a problem, he's just an asshole," he said.

The Rob Ford patois video

Filmed in January, this video of Rob Ford swearing and rambling in Jamaican patois at an Etobicoke diner suggested the mayor, who was clearly struggling with alcohol abuse, had finally hit rock bottom. However, it wasn't until audio tape of a similar encounter was released to the Toronto Sun in May that Ford agreed to enter rehab.

Bonus: The Pan Am Games promo

Sure, hosting the Pan Am Games is proving absurdly expensive (who would have guessed,) but hopefully it will at least be fun. This promo for the event suggests it will be.

Chris Bateman is a staff writer at blogTO. Follow him on Twitter at @chrisbateman.

by Chris Bateman via blogTO